By Stephanie Stephens, YRK Water Quality Advocate
In January 2024 I started working at Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) as a Riverkeeper Intern; I didn’t know what to expect, although I had a specific task to complete for YRK. My job was to analyze data sets YRK had collected from sampling on High Rock Lake (HRL) and compare that data to the monitoring results collected by Dr. Courtney Di Vittorio, a YRK board member and professor at Wake Forest University, who had completed a lengthy study of water quality on HRL. Additionally, I was to assist in the proposed jurisdiction expansion. I had no idea what all these things meant…
I quickly came to understand that HRL was in trouble, as there was an excess of nutrients entering the lake from the Yadkin and South Yadkin River; I learned about the contributing factors of this problem and how there were proposed rules, by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), to remedy it over time. Working as an intern at YRK taught me the ropes of Riverkeeping. The variety of tasks an organization committed to protecting the river while speaking up for communities negatively affected by plans beyond their control, seemed almost overwhelming. Incidents just happened out of the blue and yet we were there to investigate or represent. I knew I was in the right place doing something that made a difference… either in the long run or to the people of our community, or both.
Upon graduation at UNC-Greensboro I was officially hired by YRK as a Water Quality Specialist. I performed various tasks from supporting events, to Get Out the Vote work and I continued to work on HRL data comparisons. Through YRK I learned how to properly sample nutrients, take a motorboat out on the water (not the best at this one yet), analyze current data with historical data, find patterns and use “Riverkeeper Eyes”. That summer I was approached by Dr. Patricia Gray and asked to be Riverkeeper of the Deep River. Together we formed the brand new, licensed Riverkeeper organization Deep River Riverkeeper, just a watershed over from the Yadkin-Pee Dee. I became the first Riverkeeper of the Deep River and knew just what to do there, thanks to YRK and Edgar Miller. It's not easy to start a new environmental non-profit organization, but we hit the ground running. I was fortunate to continue my work with YRK, building on my knowledge and gaining more experience as time went on. It is amazing the differences between two jurisdictional lines when it comes to land-use surrounding a river. One thing we have in common between the Deep and the Yadkin, is when the rain goes down, the E.coli sure does go up.
My final task with YRK during fall 2025 and late winter 2026 was to take the proposed High Rock Lake Nutrient Management Strategy Rules, which are in draft form for contributing sectors wastewater, stormwater, and agriculture, and create a presentation that would help educate our Yadkin watershed that drains to HRL. These rules are complex, with language and specifications that can be confusing to most people, so we wanted to find a way to convey them publicly and allow regions of the basin to ask questions and voice their concerns with experts from each sector present. We hosted four forums in three regions of the basin (Upper, Middle and Lower) with expert presenters for each sector and presentations for each region that not only broke the High Rock Lake Rules down into layman's terms but also featured a Know Your Watershed section first, helping people understand the local impacts of water pollution. I truly enjoyed this work and learned a tremendous amount about how to collaborate with others from utilities, farms and municipalities. I liked the work so much, I applied for the NCDEQ position previously filled by Joey Hester, for Environmental Program Consultant. It is my pleasure to announce that I did receive the job and will be defending the High Rock Lake Rules at the regulatory level now.
I have loved my work to the point of obsession, both at YRK and Deep River Riverkeeper, so I know that my passion will transfer to our state agency for the environment, NCDEQ. As an advocate, a defender of water and people, I believe strongly that this role will further me in effectively protecting our water and our communities well into the future. I am grateful and thankful for the opportunity given to me by YRK Executive Director Edgar Miller, the Board of Directors at Deep River Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance to be of service to natural resources and people of the Piedmont. I also want to thank everyone who has supported me along the way, it has been a dream that became my reality.